


Mac+Riley+Stray+Cat

by mxrvelous



Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, F/M, Pets, Roommates, Sad and Happy, Stray Cat
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-21
Updated: 2020-05-21
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:40:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24184525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mxrvelous/pseuds/mxrvelous
Summary: In which Riley realizes that Mac has never owned a cat before, and Mac realizes that not everything can be explained with science.“Mac stared at the small animal, unsure of what to make of it. The cat stared right back at him, which didn’t make him anymore confident.‘It’s not supposed to do that, right?’”
Relationships: Macriley - Relationship
Comments: 4
Kudos: 53





	Mac+Riley+Stray+Cat

**Author's Note:**

  * For [PattiAnn](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=PattiAnn).



> Hey guys! Sorry I haven’t been around, and thank you for all the love on Mac+Riley+Painkillers :) I’ll be continuing to write more complex MacGyver fics as time goes on, so stay tuned!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Mac and Riley discover a box of kittens, abandoned on the trail near their house, and decide to take them to a nearby animal hospital to get out of the LA heat.

It seemed like Mac’s morning runs were getting longer and longer as their time away from the Phoenix grew closer to 7 months. It was one of his only escapes, aside from working on random contraptions. She knew that he needed to be alone, and never took offense to that need. Riley understood that he didn’t want to be away from her specifically, just people in general. Nonetheless, it was sometimes disconcerting to wake up and not see Mac’s face… or the back of his head, depending on who had decided to be the little spoon for the night. She would inhale sharply as panic began to grow, and within that breath she remembered that he was safe and sound, just taking his time on the mountain trails.

This morning, the sun was impossibly bright and the weather seemed welcoming. She was sure Mac would take his time, and even partly wished that she had gone on a run, too, but if she left now the weather would turn to blistering from nice long before she would finish the trail. Instead, she settled for going to the bathroom and relieving herself. She had absentmindedly brought her phone with her and decided to check her notifications and see if Mac had left one of his little fun facts for the day. Her favorite, so far, had been the fact that the triceratops had the largest head of any known animal. He wasn’t a history geek, per se, but he said that he “liked to spice it up” and made sure to branch out to all genres of weird trivia. She frowned, noticing that there were no new facts today. She did notice, however, that she had a missed call from him. Finishing up in the bathroom, she decided to call him back and make sure he was okay.

The phone rang around 5 times before he finally picked up. “ _Riles! Thank God you’re awake,_ ” Mac exclaimed. She stared at the phone with a befuddled expression, as if Mac could see her, and responded, “... Yeah, I’m up? What’s going on, babe?” All that came through the phone was heavy breathing and shuffling noises. “Mac?” The shuffling stopped. “ _Sorry, I’m a little preoccupied but you’re not gonna believe this. Someone left a box of kittens on the trail towards the top of the mountain… probably left them to die, unfortunately, but they’re all doing well for now from what I can tell._ ” Riley frowned, wondering for the umpteenth time this week why humans behaved so cruelly. “How many are there?” she inquired. By then, she’d given up on breakfast and traded her slippers for tennis shoes that she didn’t care about getting dust on. _“Not that many, I think… just 3, they can’t be more than 10 weeks old_ ,” Mac commented. Riley paused in thought, standing in the middle of the doorway with the car keys. “There’s an animal hospital in town, maybe 15 minutes away, even more with traffic,” she told him. “ _Yeah, I know it... you’re taking the car, right?_ ”

“Yeah, why?” she asked. “ _It’s starting to get hot out here, I’m afraid they’ll start overheating if we don’t get them water, or at least shade, really soon,_ ” he explained. Riley unlocked the car from the front of the house and closed the door behind her. “Alright, I’m on my way. There’s a water bottle in the car, too.”

___________________________  
Mac repeatedly fidgeted with his watch, trying to figure out how he would keep the kittens at a decent temperature until they arrived at the animal hospital. None of his Phoenix specials would be required, probably just turning the AC on and keeping the windows up. He sat on one of the trail benches, with his left arm wrapped around the box next to him. Faint squeaks came every few seconds, and he wasn’t sure what they meant, but he figured they were probably starving after being separated from their mother for so long. There had actually been a note in the bottom of the box, which he didn’t care much about, other than the paper used was grimy and that it had water stains. The last time it had rained had been days ago, so he figured that’s when they were left here.

In the corner of his eye, he saw the gray SUV approaching up the incline. He could faintly see Riley’s face above the steering wheel, her expression tired and weary. She had probably just woken up when he’d called her, he figured. Mac waved from the bench, motioning for her to come closer. She nodded in acknowledgment, and parked the car a few feet away, hopping out of the driver's seat as she always did. She nodded to the box, seemingly wondering if that was the box. “Yeah, they’re in here,” Mac added. He picked up the box and put it on his lap as she walked closer so she could see.

“They’re so small!” she exclaimed, immediately plopping down next to him on the bench and reaching into the box. “Ah ah ah!” Mac chided, pulling them away.“They might have fleas!”  
Riley frowned, reaching with open hands for them. “A little itch is fine!” she protested. Mac chuckled, setting the kittens down on his lap again. “Yeah, for you,” he quipped. Riley scoffed, fondly, he hoped, and gently reached for the box. He handed it to her this time and rose from the bench. “Alright, jokes aside, I think we can set them in a backseat if one of us sits back there,” he began. “It’s a bumpy ride,” he continued, although on second thought, he realized that Riles probably knew what he meant. Pushing his inward cringe aside, Mac looked up at Riley as she opened the back passenger door. “I don’t mind doing it,” she informed him. “I think you have a better idea of where it is than I do, anyway.” Mac shrugged, supposing that was true. He watched as she climbed into the backseat with the cardboard box, decided to close her door, and finally climbed into the driver’s seat. “You’re so short,” he teased, looking back at her in the rearview mirror. He was joking, of course, but his legs felt like they were at a forty-five-degree angle pressed against the dashboard and his head was grazing the roof. She reached up and smacked him on the arm, only eliciting a small snicker. “I can’t help it!” she cried, trying not to laugh. “Yeah, yeah,” he teased, adjusting the seat and finally starting the car.

There was a brief moment of silence while Mac was running through the plan again in his head.“Alright, I’m gonna turn on the AC,” Mac finally started, “and I just need you to watch over them, alright?” Riley stretched her arms, relaxing into the seat. “What should I be looking for?” she inquired. Mac wasn’t facing her anymore, instead pulling the car into a U-turn so they could go back down the trail. “Uhm… just let me know if they stop crying and watch their breathing, okay?” She nodded slowly, peeking into the box again, presumably to double-check something. She didn’t say anything else, so Mac began driving down the trail. In a short while, they were finally on asphalt again, and Mac was absentmindedly listening to the radio. It had been at least 10 minutes since either of them spoke, but it wasn’t entirely silent since the kittens were still chirping and squeaking their hearts out. “Mac?”

He looked at her, again, in the rearview mirror, jolted out of his daydream state. “What’s up? Did I pass the hospital?” he asked, suddenly realizing how spaced out he had been while driving. The kittens were lucky to be alive and intact as is, he didn’t want to make them wait any longer. “No, no,” she assured him. “I was just wondering… since when do you know so much about cats?” she finally asked. Mac swallowed, nervous although he figured this question would be coming. In the corner of his eye, finally, he saw the animal hospital. “Oh, we’re here,” he exclaimed. He felt a slight twinge of guilt for changing the subject, but that conversation was not only embarrassing, it was also a very long one, and the kittens just didn’t have time for that. Of course, Riley being Riley, he knew she noticed, but thankfully didn’t point it out. There happened to be an open parking spot at the front of the building, which Mac smoothly pulled into without much other thought. A shitty parking job, hopefully, wouldn’t kill anyone… this time.

After getting out of the car, Mac opened the door for his other passengers, figuring that it might be difficult to open the car door while maintaining a steady grip on the weak cardboard box. “Thank you,” Riley murmured, and although she didn’t look at him directly, he could see the inkling of a smile on her face. Mac could only smile in return, closing the car door for her and locking it. If this wasn’t a situation where time was against them, he was sure she would say something along the lines of “And I thought chivalry was dead.” Unfortunately, there was not much time for her adorable one-liners. “Mac,” Riley began, “they look like they’re panting.” He stopped in his tracks, surprised. That wasn’t good, not at all. Mac supposed that his worries showed on his face, and he decided to explain as they entered the bright, clean building.

“Cats don’t pant like dogs--well, they do, but they mean very different things. Dogs pant regularly because it’s common for them to get mildly overheated and that’s how they regulate their body temperature. Cats, however, are normally pretty good at keeping everything in check without that,” Mac explained. “Because of this, when cats pant, it’s normally an early sign of their body temperatures being too high.” He didn’t remember doing so, but he must have taken the box from Riley at one point or another and he held it steadily in his hands. By the time Mac had finished, they were standing at the front desk, where a woman named… Melissa was waiting. She had a curious expression on her face, seemingly having heard Mac’s elaboration. “Yes, that’s exactly right,” she commented, smiling warmly. He could feel Riley’s eyes on him, yet again wondering how he knew so much about cats, of all things. He shook it off, and gently placed the box on the desktop where Melissa could examine its contents.

“I found them on my morning jog, with a note inside. They must’ve been there since Wednesday or Thursday because the note had water damage and that’s the last time I remember it raining near our house…” He trailed off, watching as the veterinary nurse picked a gray kitten out of the box and began a cursory examination. She nodded to herself, seemingly, and then beckoned what seemed to be one of the vets that worked there. The vet was a man, a bit taller than Mac with dark hair and stubble. Older, as well. Melissa offered the kitten to him, moving the box to the adjacent side of the desk. “They said they found the kittens abandoned on a trail, apparently they’ve been there for a few days,” she added. The man nodded, reaching over and placing the kitten back with its siblings. “I’m thinking possible heat exhaustion, panting isn’t strong enough for signs of a stroke,” Melissa continued. The man nodded, picking up a clipboard with a pen attached and writing something down. Mac and Riley watched them work silently, in somewhat of a trance, which was then broken when the veterinarian offered Mac the clipboard.  
“I need you to fill this out,” he told him, causing Mac to look back at Riley and then at the vet. “I’m not sure what good I can do…” he responded, flustered. The vet’s sharp features softened, realizing that Mac hadn’t understood what he was asking. “Since they’re strays, it seems like you and your girlfriend are the only people these little guys have, so we’ll need your contact information in order to send you updates periodically. Unless you two want to stay here overnight…”

Oh. “Oh… alright, sorry,” Mac responded. Riley snickered a bit but rested a hand on Mac’s shoulder nonetheless. He sighed, reaching across with his left hand and resting it on top of hers. Mac proceeded to rest the clipboard on the counter, watching as various other assistants whisked the box of kittens away. It was strange to not know where they were going. “So, what will you do now?” he asked. The veterinarian made more notes on a different sheet of paper for what seemed to be ages and finally looked back up at them. “Since their symptoms don’t seem severe, we’re going to start them off on an intravenous drip first to make sure they’re getting some hydration that’ll allow them to regulate their own body temperatures. Afterward, we may run some blood tests to make sure nothing else is wrong, but regardless of what happens, we’ll try and get some kind of food in them as soon as possible.” Mac nodded, approving of their plan, although it wasn’t like he was in any position to disagree if he didn’t.

“Thank you, Dr…?” Riley began. “Dr. Stonehall,” he answered, “and of course. Just be sure to fill out that form I gave you so we can contact you when the kittens are out of the woods. That form will also specify whether or not you would like to take the kittens home, or if you’d rather let us bring them to a suitable shelter.” Mac and Riley glanced at each other, knowing that the thought had occurred to neither of them. Dr. Stonehall laughed, apparently sensing the apprehensiveness. “If you don’t know the answer now, it’s fine, you can figure it out when they’re ready to be transported,” the veterinarian assured them. Mac tried to not audibly sigh in relief. He had no idea what Riley wanted to do, but he already knew what answer he was leaning towards…

“Alright, we’ll absolutely finish that form. Thank you, guys!” Riley exclaimed, waving at the technicians as they shuffled to a room unknown to presumably help their new friends. They all smiled back at her, before disappearing into the long hallway. Dr. Stonehall nodded goodbye to them as well and followed the other women deeper into the hospital. Mac sighed, feeling like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders knowing that the kittens were in good hands. He slumped back into a nearby chair after grabbing the clipboard and pen. Riley sat down next to him, resting a hand on his knee and giving a little squeeze. He glanced up at her, hoping to show the relief on his face after such a seemingly long day. She sighed as well, nodding in understanding, and sunk deeper into her chair. He wouldn’t be surprised if she took a small nap while he filled out the form, which wasn’t terribly long. Dr. Stonehall had only written the circumstances of the kittens’ discovery, and marked “x”’s where Mac would need to sign his name.

Riley noticed Mac flipping through the pages and flashed a smile, and decided to rest her head on his shoulder instead. He accepted her presence readily, shifting so it would be more comfortable for her. “Super secret agent by day, Dr. Doolittle by night,” she teased. He smiled dryly, beginning to fill out the various boxes and open-ended questions. _Oh, you don’t know the half of it._


End file.
